Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday that it said were designed to be able to hit Israel, defying U.S. criticism of similar tests carried out this week. State television showed footage of two Qadr missiles being launched from northern Iran which the IRGC said hit targets 1,400 km (870 miles) away. Tests on Tuesday Read More

The private security giant G4S has warned its shareholders that it may lose £57m if the Home Office extends its contract to house destitute asylum seekers for a further two years. The warning came as its shares dropped by more than 10% after reporting a 40% fall in its pre-tax profits due to rising losses on a series of contracts Read More

The British gin industry had a record-breaking year in 2015 after 49 new distilleries opened their doors and and consumers spent nearly £1bn on their favourite tipple. The value of gin sold in the UK’s supermarkets and off-licences hit the £400m mark for the first time while sales topped £500m in pubs, restaurants and bars, according to a report from Read More

Sports Direct (SPD.L) founder Mike Ashley has been told he could be in contempt of Parliament if he ignores a summons from MPs to answer questions about the treatment of workers at Britain’s biggest sportswear retailer. The chairman of Parliament’s Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, Iain Wright, said in a letter made public on Wednesday that Ashley had not responded Read More

As the world grapples with climate change, we urgently need to find ways of reducing our CO₂ emissions. Sectors which rely heavily on fossil fuels, such as energy and aviation, are commonly held to be the worst offenders. But what most people don’t realise is that there’s another culprit, hiding in plain sight; on the streets of our cities, and Read More

Supreme court backs HMRC and rules bonus schemes operated by investment banks are not exempt from tax City of London, the capital’s financial district. The supreme court ruling on UBS and Deutsche Bank covers bonuses paid out as far back as 2004. Photograph: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images UBS and Deutsche Bank may have to pay tens of millions of pounds to Read More

Britain’s top share index rose on Wednesday, boosted by a rise in insurer Prudential after it announced a special dividend with results that beat expectations. Prudential rose 2.9 percent, the top FTSE 100 riser, after its profit was lifted by strong performances at its British, U.S. and Asian life businesses. “Overall Prudential remains in good shape and … has allayed Read More

There are few things more frustrating than a slow-loading web page. For companies, what’s even worse is what comes after: users abandoning their site in droves. Amazon, for example, estimates that every 100-millisecond delay cuts its profits by 1 percent. To help combat this problem, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Harvard University have developed Read More

Number 10 has conceded that its plans to relax Sunday trading laws are dead in the water, after David Cameron suffered his first House of Commons defeat since the election at the hands of his own Conservative MPs. The government’s attempt to let shops trade for longer than six hours each Sunday was voted down after 26 Tory backbenchers teamed Read More

ritain’s Queen Elizabeth visits the National Memorial to the Few in Folkestone, southern England March 26, 2015 in Folkestone, England. REUTERS/CHRIS JACKSON/POOL Buckingham Palace said it had launched an official complaint with Britain’s press watchdog on Wednesday over a newspaper report that Queen Elizabeth backs a British exit from the European Union, saying the monarch remains politically neutral. Under the Read More